You need sensitivity training, or something. The discrimination on these boards towards Russians is astounding.

I wouldn't waste my time on numbskulls like him/her. You'll never be able to talk sense to him/her. I've spent the better part of two years fighting that fight with anti-euro, anti-Russian hockey fans. While I LOVE rock'em sock'em hockey I'll take skill every time.

saw a thread that you guys might have some d on the move, and our d is horrible so we could work as trade partners

That's what motivated me to start this thread. And it got me to thinking of BJs as a possible partner to move excess D. But I'm still hoping to see some proposals to gage where I stand in terms of how much to offer for a prospect like Filatov.

I'm wondering if you'd be interested in Rosival, he has an ok contract and is a solid d-man (contrary to popular opinion). While the Cap hit is high the actual salary is quite reasonable. I think we'd have to throw a little something in like a Sanguinetti or a high pick.

I wouldn't waste my time on numbskulls like him/her. You'll never be able to talk sense to him/her. I've spent the better part of two years fighting that fight with anti-euro, anti-Russian hockey fans. While I LOVE rock'em sock'em hockey I'll take skill every time.

Luckily they're in the minority so it's best to not rise to the bait.

Well it works both ways. I don't think it's fair that you label some people anti-euro or anti-Russian because they don't agree with you on one particular player (who as it happens is Ukrainian)--named Zherdev. Personally I think Filatov would be a very intriguing player and I brought him up about a month ago in some kind of who should we target UFA thread in this forum but it didn't seem to get a lot of attention but the idea came from a story about how Hitchcock and Filatov weren't getting along that was running on Yahoo's NHL page at the time.

And to be honest it takes a lot more elements than just skill to make a winning team and though the Rangers might not have enough skill (or enough skill that produces like it should) they don't have enough toughness either. You cannot build a winning team by always trading off one aspect of the game for another. You need to build a balance.

Sanguinetti is a former 1st rounder himself, maybe start with him, add in a late round pick or maybe Sauer?

I also agree that the talks would begin with Sanguinetti, who I think will be an excellent 2-way Dman in the near future. However, I wouldn't want to give up a first or a second. we don't have a third, I believe, so it's a 4th or a 5th.

An offer can alway be expanded to send Rosie. I think it would take Girardi to be honest, which in my opinion is hard to pull the trigger on. They need a Dman so I'm guessing they don't want an unknown commodity for the future.

I also agree that the talks would begin with Sanguinetti, who I think will be an excellent 2-way Dman in the near future. However, I wouldn't want to give up a first or a second. we don't have a third, I believe, so it's a 4th or a 5th.

An offer can alway be expanded to send Rosie. I think it would take Girardi to be honest, which in my opinion is hard to pull the trigger on. They need a Dman so I'm guessing they don't want an unknown commodity for the future.

That's tough. Without Girardi I dont know if this team makes the playoffs... Not because Girardi is so good but because we would be short on quality NHL D-men. And with Filatov gone till at least next season it's not something I want to explore.

How many lazy Russian reclamation projects are we going to take on before we stop messing with them? No thanks.

That statement is in no way accurate of Filatov

The kid has loads of offensive talent and is a burst of energy on the ice. The problem is Hitchcock didn't want him on team in 1st place.

GM drafted and wanted him while he did not

Filatov is in many ways similiar to Patrick Kane when he came into the league. Top offensive talent with no defensive ability. Kane was god awful as a rookie in his own end , Horrendous last year and is now average this year. The improvement comes with experience.

Hitchcock demands his players be strong in there own end above all else. He was playing Filatov on the 4th line with Micheal Blunden and other grinders. You dont throw a talent like that on your 4th line. When Filatov would make a mistake in 1st period he would be benched rest of game.

Filatov is incapable of playing at the level of defense that Hitchcock wants. YOu cant force good defense out of him. You have to work with him on it and expect him to improve with time.

He is a top 6 offensive talent who thrives in offensive zone and on PP. But he was in a system were he was viewed with contempt and scorn and benched in favor of pluggers and grinders.

Hitchcock is killing that team with his out of date coaching style and his refusal to compromise with talent like Zherdov

Coach Q hated Kane's defensive lapses last year but he knew his value on offensive end. He has worked with Kane to improve his defense and John Madden was brought in and from all accounts is also a reason for the improvement by Kane this season.

If the Hitch took this approach and swallowed his ego for once the Blue Jackets would have a rising star in NHL instead of a rising star in KHL.

If we had a solid defense I wouldn't care about having a potential superstar who was offense only. We need balance. Staal can make up for the lack of a defensive effort from Gaborik (I think he's fine, just an example, a 1+ PPG player is never a liability IMO), but I am not confident in having a pure offensive threat if Redden and Rozsival (plus inexperienced rookies) are on the ice.

Ehhh these guys remind me of Svitov and Chistov. Both were top quality NHL prospects but both wanted lots of $$ for little production and were flops in the NHL. We have enough of that here so I'll pass unless he comes cheap.

Ehhh these guys remind me of Svitov and Chistov. Both were top quality NHL prospects but both wanted lots of $$ for little production and were flops in the NHL. We have enough of that here so I'll pass unless he comes cheap.

Filatov is nothing like Zherdev

No money issue,,,, He left NHL because his coach made it very clear he wasn't wanted on his team

How many lazy Russian reclamation projects are we going to take on before we stop messing with them? No thanks.

This is such an absurd comment. 2008 top-ten picks with a negligible handful of NHL games under their belt fall into the "lazy reclamation projects" category in what universe, exactly? The kid is 19 and has undeniable superstar potential. Picking him up for Sanguinetti and a pick (an equally unproven player at the NHL level and a pick that may not ever even make the NHL) is a bargain for the potential Filatov has, especially for a team that is starving for top-flight offensive talent. Just because he hasn't cracked the CBJ line up at 19 years old and happens to share a heritage with Zherdev doesn't make him the next Z. Not to mention the fact that even if Filatov was never any better than Zherdev that would still be our second best forward and moving a Sanguinetti or McDonagh for that is easy to swallow when dealing from a position of strength. That anyone here wouldn't be willing to move a Sanguinetti (when we have Sauer, Potter, Heikenen, McDonagh, Williams, Gilroy and MDZ as well) for a talent like Filatov just because of some 'lazy russian' stigma is ridiculous.

The kid has loads of offensive talent and is a burst of energy on the ice. The problem is Hitchcock didn't want him on team in 1st place.

GM drafted and wanted him while he did not

Filatov is in many ways similiar to Patrick Kane when he came into the league. Top offensive talent with no defensive ability. Kane was god awful as a rookie in his own end , Horrendous last year and is now average this year. The improvement comes with experience.

Hitchcock demands his players be strong in there own end above all else. He was playing Filatov on the 4th line with Micheal Blunden and other grinders. You dont throw a talent like that on your 4th line. When Filatov would make a mistake in 1st period he would be benched rest of game.

Filatov is incapable of playing at the level of defense that Hitchcock wants. YOu cant force good defense out of him. You have to work with him on it and expect him to improve with time.

He is a top 6 offensive talent who thrives in offensive zone and on PP. But he was in a system were he was viewed with contempt and scorn and benched in favor of pluggers and grinders.

Hitchcock is killing that team with his out of date coaching style and his refusal to compromise with talent like Zherdov

Coach Q hated Kane's defensive lapses last year but he knew his value on offensive end. He has worked with Kane to improve his defense and John Madden was brought in and from all accounts is also a reason for the improvement by Kane this season.

If the Hitch took this approach and swallowed his ego for once the Blue Jackets would have a rising star in NHL instead of a rising star in KHL.

If you noticed in Zherdev's interviews, he said that he was satisfied with his performance with the Rangers last year. The first half of the season I'd say everyone was satisfied, the rest no-body else. Zherdev had the potential of being a 90 point producer consistently, but never went that route.

This Filatov kid, I like his maturity in his comments, they are different than Zherdev's, shows he has a lot of character and I think we should pick him up and fill that Cherepanov gap that everyone has been looking to fill up for. If I ever see Sather, I'll be sure to scream FILATOV while he puffs his cigar.